The New Richland Lions Club will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a banquet at City Hall Thursday, Dec. 12. The evening meal will be catered by the Red Leaf. All members, former members, charter members (We do have several!) and spouses are encouraged to attend.
The Lions held their charter banquet April 19, 1969 in the New Richland-Hartland High School cafeteria, with 36 charter members and 107 guests attending. The sponsoring club, the Albert Lea Lions, was in charge of the program. Their president, Robert Bonnerup, was master of ceremonies. They furnished special music for the evening and one of their members, Holger “Buzz” Knudsen, district commander at that time, presented the international Lions charter. Jim Jensen, newly-elected president of the New Richland Lions, accepted the charter.
The second special banquet was the 25th anniversary banquet March 17, 1994 at the American Legion Clubrooms, with local president Jeff Thorne master of ceremonies, and district commander Ed Gass as speaker for the evening. The Lions Code of Ethics was shared that night, which in part reads:
“What does it mean to be a Lion? To hold friendship as an end and not a means. True friendship demands nothing, but accepts service in the spirit in which it is given…to give freely of my time, labor and means… To aid others by giving sympathy to those in distress, my aid to the weak and my substance to the needy...to be careful with my criticism and liberal with my praise; to build up and not destroy.”
The New Richland Lions take seriously the Lions’ motto, “We serve.” Community projects are a priority. The very first treasurer’s report noted expenditures for the youth of our community: gifts to the AFS (American Field Service) committee, the Boy Scouts, the Post-Prom Committee and the school’s safety promotion program. The club has continued to support many youth activities. The New Richland Lions Pancake Breakfast has been a tradition for more than four decades. Many individuals and families have received help with overwhelming medical expenses through this event. Numerous other community projects have been supported through the pancake breakfasts.
New members are always welcome. Come and celebrate Dec. 12!